An outstanding light vehicle of World War II was the jeep, a small general-purpose motor vehicle with 80-inch wheelbase, ¼-ton capacity, developed by the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps. It weighed 1.25 tons, had a four-cylinder engine, and could climb 60° grades and operate on rough terrain thanks to its four-wheel drive and high clearance. Since the war the jeep has been adapted for civilian use and appeared in many varieties known today as on-road and/or off-road 4×4 vehicles.
In the U.S. military, it has been replaced by the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV®), or Humvee®. Armored varieties of the jeep include the G-Wagon, Storm and Humvee®. Civilian varieties of the jeep include the Land Rover®, Land Cruiser®, and Ford Explorer®.
As is often the case with specialized military vehicles, which are generally produced in small batches, the cost of armored jeeps is usually far higher than their mass produced civilian equivalents.
“Armored cars” or civilian vehicles modified to protect the occupants from projectiles and explosives such as those produced for diplomat protection have been commercially available for many years. Such vehicles are designed to protect the occupants whilst appearing to onlookers as unmodified civilian vehicles.